L’animal, entre personne et chose?

The contemporary call for a respect of nature finds one of its concrete applications in the theme of animal rights, either understood as a «natural right» applied to the living or as a positive right describing new relationships between the members of the community of all natural beings. Law, defined as an emanation of some possessive «humanism», is urged to acknowledge a newscala natur? and to give a fresh look upon living beings, by throwing into confusion its own notion of Subject, getting rid of anthropocentric and metaphysical norms. In such a debate, what is involved behind the appearance of a plastic and instrumental concept of Subject, is the very banalization and finally, in different ways, the destruction of the Subject. The conflict between Human rights and the right to live is not a social problem, but clearly appears as one of those which show the urgency of the neverending question of man’s essence in relation to the confused and contested specific difference between man and animal.     

The Mortella II & III Wrecks: premiminary observations on two 16th‐century archaeological sites discovered in Saint‐Florent Bay,Corsica, France

In 2005 and 2006 the remains of great armed vessels dated from the 16th century were discovered within an archaeological survey framework led by the Société d'Etudes en Archéologie Subaquatique (SEAS) in Saint‐Florent Bay (north Corsica, France). The preliminary study of the two archaeological sites located, named Mortella II and Mortella III, sheds light on these highly interesting shipwrecks and the contribution their excavation—programmed for 2010—will be able to provide to the maritime archaeology of this period, about which relatively little is known. © 2010 The Author     

Millet cultivation history in the French Alps as evidenced by a sedimentary molecule

We report on the detection, in a sediment core drilled in Lake Le Bourget (French Alps), of a fossil molecule (miliacin) that was synthesized by broomcorn millet cultivated in the watershed, and then exported to the sediment. The variation in abundance of this molecule allows us reconstructing the history of millet cultivation around Lake Le Bourget. Our results support the introduction of millet around −1700 BC in the region. After an intensive cultivation during the Late Bronze Age, the failure of millet cropping during the Hallstatt period coincides with a phase of climatic deterioration. Millet cultivation recovers during the Roman and Mediaeval periods before falling most probably due to the introduction of more productive cereals. These pioneering results constitute the first continuous record of an agrarian activity covering the last 6000 years and emphasize the close relationships between local hydrology, land use and agro-pastoral activities around Lake Le Bourget.     

La Frontière Comme Enjeu les Annales et la Sociologie

Since their beginnings in the 1930’s, the Annales periodically demarcated themselves with sociology. Focusing on three decisive moments (the foundation, the Braudel moment, and the eighties), this article documents the process of boundaries drawing, which is unvaryingly at stakes in the context of institutional and epistemological disputes. The collective identity of the Annales resulted from the definition of continuously adjusted values.     

Particle size distribution of lithic assemblages and taphonomy of Palaeolithic sites

Lithic debris derived from knapping and used tools can be assimilated to simple sedimentary particles that may undergo size sorting when exposed to geomorphic processes such as streamflow or overland flow. Sorting can be identified by comparing the size distribution of archaeological assemblages to that of experimental core reduction sequences. A new database including different types of raw material (mainly flint and quartzite) and Palaeolithic debitage (blade, Levallois, discoid, on anvil, and shaping) has been built for this purpose. Palaeoeskimo data have also been added to illustrate microlithic industries. For all the debitages and raw materials, the particle size of knapping products >2 mm in width fits with a power-law distribution and shows only minor fluctuations, the range of which is always <15% between experiments (all steps of the chaîne opératoire included up to the final tool). A lithic assemblage derived from block/core knapping or blank/preform production will display a particle size distribution close to the experimental distributions if not subsequently modified. Modifications may originate either from sedimentary processes or from anthropogenic factors. To help distinguishing amongst these, data on the impact of both water flows on sedimentary particles or experimental assemblages, and anthropogenic processes such as importation-exportation (of core, preforms or finished tools) or uneven spatial distribution of the different steps in core reduction and tool production within a site, are reviewed. By contrast to anthropogenic modifications, sedimentary processes are generally typified by strong impoverishment in or selective accumulation of fine-grained (<10 mm) artefacts together with a low intra-site variability (spatial homogenization) or a downslope size trend. Archaeological case studies taken from French Palaeolithic site are then detailed. Evidence for lithic redistribution implies that care should be taken in archaeological site analysis since sorting may impact significantly the initial techno-typological balance of the assemblage.     

Actualités

Cet article traite du match de football ayant opposé l'équipe de France à son homologue algérienne le 6 octobre 2001 au Stade de France. Basée sur l'analyse de quatre quotidiens nationaux (Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération et L'Équipe), l'étude cherche à comprendre les représentations des relations franco-algériennes dans la presse écrite française. Il s'agit de saisir les manières dont les journaux problématisent la rencontre en construisant des catégories et des classements particuliers. L'enquête révèle ainsi la mise en scène d'un système de perception social et politique fondé sur des séparations et des hiérarchies culturelles, nationales et sociales. Plus précisément, la presse véhicule l'idée de « choc des civilisations ». Elle instaure également un rapport de domination symbolique entre les deux pays à l'avantage de la France. Enfin, elle valorise pour l'Hexagone un modèle d'intégration des individus basé sur la séparation public/privé et sur la responsabilité individuelle.